In order for you an reasonably priced Router that has all of it, the Asus RT-AC86U checks very practically all of the containers. From gaming to safety to quick speeds, everybody can discover one thing to love about this high-end dual-band AC2900 router. And for under $200 (£200 within the UK, which converts to AU$350), you do not have to speculate a fortune to get precisely what you want.

I noticed prime throughput speeds on 5GHz throughout testing and was pleasantly shocked by the app. Probably the greatest options of many Asus routers is their menu, which could be very customizable. The Asus RT-AC86U isn’t any completely different.

It will not disappoint in case you want an easy-to-use router with dependable Wi-Fi protection in a big dwelling.

Cool look, however not a flexible design

The Asus RT-AC86U could be very smooth, showcasing a largely black look with two crimson streaks throughout the entrance. It stands upright with three removable antennas, just a few standing lights and an total compact design. You’ll be able to’t lay it down flat or mount it on a wall, however at eight.6 by 6.three by three.three inches and 1.9 kilos, it may be hidden in case you actually cannot stand to see it.

The Asus RT-AC86U can’t be mounted on a wall or laid down flat.

Chris Monroe/Proinertech

The again has an influence button, reset button, energy adapter socket, USB 2.zero port, USB three.1 Gen 1 port and a useful LED on/off button. There is also one gigabit WAN port and 4 gigabit LAN ports, certainly one of which can be utilized for dual-WAN to attach a second web connection to your router for higher Wi-Fi stability.

The aspect of the RT-AC86U incorporates a Wi-FI on/off button and a WPS button for shortly connecting new units. The entrance LEDs are small and never very distracting. They signify LAN ports 1-Four, web connectivity, 2.4GHz band, 5GHz band and energy.

General the design could be very fashionable, however like most routers, it in all probability will stand out in case you place it in plain view. My recommendation, maintain it out of sight in a central location of your own home.

Intuitive menu that is simply customizable, however solely if you wish to

I adore it when a router menu has a lot of customizable options. What I like much more is when a router is well navigable and even useful at occasions. The Asus RT-AC86U is all this and extra.

Even the setup course of simple. All I needed to do was join it to a modem, join my laptop computer to the router, energy on the router, enter a PIN, arrange the log-in/password for the router and arrange the SSIDs/passwords. The firmware is upgraded mechanically, and the entire course of took about 5 minutes. Simple.

Largely. The setup menu was in a international language once I obtained it and I could not log in. All I needed to do was maintain within the reset button for 10 seconds and when it rebooted, I used to be off and working in English. So, simple repair. Fortunately I did not must spend months studying a brand new language.

Bonus: in case you join an Asus account by its web site, you get 5GB of cloud storage without cost. A pleasant further if you have not used Asus merchandise beforehand.

The ASUSWRT person interface is a beast to behold, as house owners of different Asus routers ought to know. To assist out, Asus integrated a performance that, if you mouse over a setting, a query mark pops up. Whenever you click on the mouse, a dialog field pops up, telling you what the setting does. That is handy and useful.

The menu is straightforward to navigate and has choices for just about the whole lot you need to customise and extra, together with adaptive QoS for prioritizing units, GameBoost to enhancing your gaming expertise, and AiProtection for elevated community safety.

Added safety and gaming options are an awesome bonus

In relation to specs, the Asus RT-AC86U solely lacks tri-band capabilities (that’s, not having an additional 5GHz band). The twin-band AC2900 router gives 750Mbps pace on 2.4GHz, 2,167Mbps on 5GHz and a 1.8GHz processor.

MU-MIMO know-how permits it to hook up with a number of units and concurrently present information streams to every at their prime pace. Keep in mind although, that your gadget must have MU-MIMO-capable hardware to benefit from this function, which is simply accessible on the 5GHz band.